Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
A va adjusted the place settings for the third time, her hands trembling slightly as she straightened a fork that didn’t need straightening. She peeked in the oven again, even though she hadn’t cooked anything herself. She wasn’t that reckless. She might be impulsive enough to spring this dinner plan on Reed, but she wasn't about to poison him in the process. She wanted to win him back, not send him to the ED. Sure, she could probably save his life if he started convulsing on the floor—but that didn’t exactly set the mood she was going for. And it would absolutely ruin the rest of her plan.
If you could even call it a plan. Really, it was just chaos, dressed up with napkins and warm takeout containers. She’d packed up her things, loaded Noah’s truck with everything she thought she might need to win a man back, and driven straight to Reed’s. Then she picked up dinner from the diner, set the table like it was a second date instead of an emotional Hail Mary, and twisted Rachel’s arm until she swore she’d make sure Kyle sent Reed straight home after his shift.
The rest? Well, that was up to fate.
A low rumble broke the quiet—Reed’s truck. Her stomach twisted into a dozen knots. Showtime.
Keys scraped in the lock, metal jangling as they dropped into the wooden bowl by the door. The door shut with a soft click, and then…silence.
Ava stood in the hallway, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, fingers white-knuckled. Her heart pounded like it wanted to outrun her chest. There he was. Her husband. The man she loved. The man she’d hurt. The man she was praying would give her another chance.
Reed froze in the entryway, shoulders sagging beneath his wrinkled shirt. His dark hair stuck up at odd angles, like he’d run his hands through it too many times. His eyes were shadowed, the kind of hollow that came from too many sleepless nights. He looked…worn down. Broken. And maybe a little thinner, though it could’ve been a trick of the low light or the guilt pressing on her chest.
His eyes locked on her, expression shuttered. “Why are you here?” His voice was rough, scraped raw at the edges.
She swallowed hard. “To ask your forgiveness.”
He dragged a hand down his face, like he could physically scrub away the exhaustion. “Ava, I’m beat. It’s been a hell of a shift, and I haven’t slept more than three hours at a time all weekend. I can’t do this right now. Just grab your stuff, or come back tomorrow. I can help then.”
His words felt like a punch, but she didn’t flinch. Not this time. “That’s going to be hard, considering I don’t have anywhere to go.”
His brow furrowed as he stared at her. “Did you get kicked out of your apartment?”
“Not exactly,” she said softly. “I gave up the lease. Told them I had somewhere else to live.” She held her breath. “Or at least…I hope I do.”
Reed walked past her, pausing as he entered the kitchen and caught sight of the table—candles, takeout, and the very obvious effort she’d made. His shoulders stiffened.
“Ava,” he said slowly, “what’s going on?”
She followed him in, gripping the back of a wooden chair so tightly her fingers ached. Her voice shook, but she forced herself to speak. “I was wrong. So wrong. I accused you because I was scared, because it was easier to point a finger than admit what I was really feeling. But the truth is, I’ve been lying to myself since the moment we got married. We said we’d stay married because of the job, but that was just a convenient excuse.”
His eyes softened, a flicker of hope warming the brown. “Then why did we get married, Ava?”
She let out a breathy laugh, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. “You drove me crazy in the ED, you know that, right? Always flirting, teasing, smiling like nothing could ever rattle you.”
He gave a small, dry chuckle. “Truly terrible behavior.”
She smiled back. “I know. Shameful. But the truth is, I envied you. The way you connected with people so easily. How you made everyone feel seen. I hated that I craved that feeling from you, wanted to be the one you looked at like that. You made me feel like more than just a doctor. You made me feel alive.”
He didn’t move, but she saw the way his jaw tightened, how his eyes flickered with longing.
“No one ever treated me the way you did,” she said softly. “But I had a plan.” She rolled her eyes as he scowled. “Yeah, yeah, the plan. I know you hated it. But it was my armor. When you were around, you made me forget it. You made me hope. And in Vegas, I let myself dream for once.”
He stepped closer, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering. “It wasn’t a dream. Not for me. It was real. It was everything.”
She blinked; her throat tight. “It was for me, too. I just didn’t want to admit it. I hid behind the job, told myself I married you for a promotion, for stability. But that wasn’t the truth. I married you because I couldn’t picture a future without you in it. I just didn’t know how to say that back then.”
He reached for her hand and pulled her close, his warmth seeping into her like sunlight. “So what happened, Ava?”
She looked down at their joined hands, his thumb brushing lightly against her skin. “I got scared. I thought you’d leave me. So, I left first. It’s a pattern—I push people away before they can hurt me.”
His other hand came up to cup her cheek, his touch gentle, grounding. She leaned into it, her eyes fluttering shut.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”
She let the words settle, let herself believe them for just a moment. Her heart cracked open, the pieces soft and aching. “So am I,” she breathed. “If you’ll still have me.”
She took a shaky breath, then slowly dropped to one knee, the hardwood cool beneath her. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her voice low and certain.
“I know I proposed the last time, but this time…it’s for real. No job on the line, no pretending. Just us. Reed Campbell, will you marry me—for real? In front of our family and friends, right here in Elizabethtown?”
Reed’s face twisted, a mix of disbelief and something dangerously close to a laugh breaking through his stunned silence. “Well, damn,” he muttered, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a small velvet box. “You beat me to it. Again.”
She stared, wide-eyed, as he cracked open the box to reveal a delicate vintage ring—a slender gold band with a soft, glowing diamond surrounded by filigree. “This was my grandmother’s,” he said quietly. “Then my mom’s. I’ve been carrying it around like an idiot, waiting for the right moment. I was going to find you. Propose. But of course, you had a plan.”
She laughed, the sound thick with emotion. “Some habits die hard.”
Reed knelt in front of her, taking her hands gently in his. His voice was steady, but his eyes glistened. “Ava Spencer, will you marry me? Not because of work. Not because of Vegas or convenience or timing. But because I love you. Because I want to build a life with you. Messy and real and imperfect and ours.”
She nodded, the tears spilling freely now. “Yes, Reed. Yes, I will marry you.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger with trembling hands, then cupped her face and kissed her—soft at first, then deeper, desperate and anchoring, like two people who had finally stopped running from the truth. Her hands tangled in his hair, his arms wrapping tight around her like he never intended to let go again.
When they finally broke apart, foreheads pressed together, Ava let out a choked laugh. “You’re still eating dinner, by the way. I went through a lot of trouble not to poison you.”
“Oh, yeah?” he said with a crooked smile. “Well, I guess now I really can’t say no.”
She grinned, her chest aching in the best possible way. “Good. Because I’m not letting you go. Not again.”
Reed leaned in, brushing his lips across hers one more time. “Then let’s never do that again.”